1976 Topps #159 - Jerry Terrell

• Jerry Terrell was a utility player who played wherever the team needed him. The only thing I can remember about Jerry is that he voted "no" on a strike vote in 1980. He was the only player to do so (he said it was against his religion).

• Terrell started in the Minnesota Twins' system. He played in A ball in 1968 then didn't play in 1969, possibly due to military service. Jerry came back and played in the minors in 1971 and 1972. He made the Twins in 1973. Jerry batted .265 in 124 games but had an OBP of only .297.
  

• Jerry played in 116 games in 1974 and batted .245. He played every infield position and LF that year. Terrell played all over the place again in 1975 and had his best season (.286 in 108 games). He also played in 45 minor league games that year and batted .320. Jerry played in 89 games in 1976 but had only 186 plate appearances and batted .246. Terrell had a similar year in 1977 (.224 in 214 AB). After the 1977 season he was granted free agency and signed with the Kansas City Royals.

• Terrell had much less playing time with the Royals from 1978-1980. In 1978 he played in 73 games (133 AB) and batted .203. Jerry was in only 31 games in 1979 (40 AB) and batted .300. Jerry even got to pitch in a game. The story of Jerry's appearance is quite amusing. He was asked to pitch the 9th inning of a blowout game (the Royals were down by 13 runs) and managed to set the Yankees down in order---on three pitches! All three batters popped out. Jerry got a standing ovation for the feat, and then got a second standing ovation when he knocked in a run in the bottom of the inning.

• In 1980 Terrell split time between the Royals and AAA Omaha. He wasn't called up in time to be eligible for the playoffs, but he was allowed to sit on the Royals bench and was included in the introductions. Jerry ended up batting .063 in 16 at bats for the Royals that year. He was released in spring training of 1981 and retired.

• Since his retirement Terrell has been a coach and manager in the minor leagues. In 2002 he was the advance scout for the Montreal Expos. Here is a link to a 2002 "where are they now" article. Here is a link to a future "biography" of Jerry that will appear later this year. I think Terrell is an analyst for a sports station but every time I click a link I get a "bad security certificate" error.